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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/81943 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications Engaging Individuals to be Effective Collectives: A Ganzian Analysis of Leader/Follower Relationships in Times of Challenge. Clare Alexina Holt, MSc Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) University of Warwick Warwick Business School June 2016 1 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 ACRONYMS 8 ABSTRACT 10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 11 Scotland Bucks the Trend 18 Indifference – The Directly Elected Mayors 21 Referenda 2002 and 2012 How do Leaders Engage and Improve 24 Relations? The Chapters Ahead 25 Contribution to Academia 30 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 31 Theory of Leadership: An Individual Hero or 31 a Relational Process? Social Movement Theory and Collective 55 Identity Stories in Organizations 62 Emotion, Trust and Transparency 73 Human Error and Prozac Leadership 79 A Ganzian Analysis 86 SUMMARY 108 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 110 INTRODUCTION 110 Research Strategy 112 2 Researching Strategies in the Field of 114 Leadership Research Design 117 Methodology for the Commission Report 126 Grounded Theory: It is not a Theory, but a 132 Method What is Theory? 135 The Theoretical Origins of Grounded Theory 139 Critique of Grounded Theory 151 Induction or Abduction? 155 ‘Fit’ and ‘Grab’ 163 ‘Constructivist’ Grounded Theory – The 165 GTM Used SUMMARY 167 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL DATA I: 170 DISENGAGEMENT AND DISORGANIZATIONS IN PRACTICE BP and a Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico 173 No Collaboration at a County Council 177 Fighting Fire after Fire 181 Disorganizations – Why? 184 Analysis of Disorganizations in Practice 187 Blame Culture: What is forgivable and what 191 is punishable? Silence: When Individuals feel they have no 199 voice SUMMARY 203 3 CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL DATA II: 205 HOW DO SOME LEADERS BETTER ENGAGE INDIVIDUALS? Doing Politics Differently: How a ‘Nerdy 208 Professor’ engaged with the Citizens of Calgary The Red Arrows 221 Leicester City Council and the New Mayor 227 Recognizing Emotions 232 Positive Deviance 234 Relationships 236 Just Culture 240 SUMMARY 247 CHAPTER 6 FROM NEW BEGINNINGS TO 249 COLLECTIVE LEARNING AND THE UPWARD HILL OF DISSENT New Beginnings 249 Building Common Purpose for Action 261 Collective Learning 270 The Hill of Upward Dissent – the Need to be 275 Constructive not Destructive SUMMARY 285 4 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS 286 INTRODUCTION 286 Conclusion 288 Limitations 301 Future Research 309 A Few Final Words 310 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS 311 APPENDICES 316 APPENDIX 1 Sample Letter to Mayors Outside of the UK 316 APPENDIX 2 Sample Letter to Mayors in England 317 APPENDIX 3 Sample Letter to Council Leaders 318 APPENDIX 4 Information Enclosed with Letters to 319 Interviewees APPENDIX 5 Initial Coding Criteria 320 APPENDIX 6 Summary of Commission Report Findings 321 and Analysis APPENDIX 7 The Story of ‘Camp Obama’ – Ganz and 330 Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign 2008 APPENDIX 8 Background to BP Plc And The Deepwater 339 Horizon Disaster APPENDIX 9 Ethics and Conduct during Research 342 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 344 5 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLE 3.1 Research Summary 125 TABLE 3.2 Initial Coding 127 FIGURE 3.1 Research Timeline 124 FIGURE 3.2 Samples of Initial- 127 Coded Transcripts FIGURE 4.1 Classification of Errors 193 FIGURE 4.2 Amended 196 Classification of Errors FIGURE 6.1 The Hill of Upward 284 Dissent 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the intellectual and emotional roller coaster of completing this work, there are many people who have supported me and believed in me. First I would like to thank my family and friends for their love and support – especially my parents and my brothers. When I started the process my partner at the time and now good friend ‘Smithy’ provided me with support and honesty, continuously reminding me that PhDs are not easy hence why not everyone can do it! Other friends who have been there to encourage me, distract me and banter with me include my true friends Mandy Pantall, David Godber, ‘Mr and Mrs O’ and Joy Naylor – they have also done a great job in listening to me moan and ensuring I drank plenty of wine to numb the more difficult times! There are of course people at the University of Warwick I would like to acknowledge and thank: Professor Wyn Grant in the early stages of completing the research for the Commission, Ian Rowley for agreeing to the funding, and the previous university registrar Jon Baldwin for signing the paperwork and ensuring all the funding was in place. There are obviously many others to thank including the people who made time for me to interview them (especially the mayor of Calgary and the Leicester City Mayor, and the various members of the Red Arrows) and those who let me use their stories and quotes in this work. Towards the final writing and editing I started a new form of exercise – Bikram Yoga. I would like to thank the instructor, Davinda Heyre, and the new friends I have made since starting this challenging form of yoga for keeping me sane during the latter stages, teaching me how to stretch my body and relax my mind. In terms of ensuring I relax, my loyal dog Bentley has reminded me to get fresh air and go on long walks allowing me time to ponder, think and reflect on my work. Now the final big thank you: Professor Keith Grint – my ‘Inspirisor’. Thank you for all your time, wisdom, and support, but overall for believing in me and putting up with me! I know at times I have been challenging, so THANK YOU. 7 ACRONYMS AD Assistant Directors CAA Civil Aviation Authority CAQDAS Computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software CMT Corporate Management Team CPA Continuous Performance Assessment CRM Crew Resource Management DETR Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions DL Distributed Leadership DTLR Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions EVL Exit-Voice-Loyalty EVLN Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect FO Field Organizer GDP Gross Domestic Product GTM Grounded Theory Method HPDS High Potential Development Scheme IDeA Improvement and Development Agency LBDQ Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire LMX Leader-Member Exchange Theory MLQ Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire MP Member of Parliament MSP Member of Scottish Parliament NHS National Health Service NLGN New Local Government Network 8 RAF Royal Air Force RLT Relational Leadership Theory SNP Scottish National Party SOLACE Society of Local Authority Chief Executives SRG Safety Regulation Group TLI Transformational Leadership Inventory USCM United States Conference of Mayors YCMAD You Can Make A Difference 9 ABSTRACT Engaging and formulating stronger working relationships within public, private and political organizations is a complex, fluid and challenging task for individuals in all positions, especially those in positions of authority and leadership. This research focuses on the engagement of people as a ‘wicked’ problem amongst middle to senior managers and some political figures. This problem is particularly apparent when individuals work across silos, in partnerships, within blame cultures, and through periods of challenge and change, especially in relation to budget cuts and constant restructuring. Using Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2012; Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1994), the empirical data collated for the Warwick Commission on Elected Mayors and City Leadership (2012)1 was initially used. This initial data set provided insights and what Glaser and Strauss (1968) call ‘hunches’ into the issue of politically engaging with the citizen, producing several examples where city leaders had engaged innovatively with the citizen. To build on these ‘hunches’ further research was conducted during facilitated sessions in leadership development, identifying conversations with middle to senior managers around engaging teams, employees and partners. Three specific cases were identified and researched to examine why some organizations are failing in engaging their employees, identifying and highlighting some of the barriers preventing learning, dissent and effective change. These three cases of disorganization were compared and contrasted against three further empirical cases of organization where engagement, relationships, learning and dissent are acceptable and encouraged. Focusing on studying ‘the space between’ leaders and followers ‘to advance knowledge of relational leadership’ engaging ‘across disciplines and perspectives (Uhl-Bien, 2012: xiv - xv), the research question being addressed is ‘how can the complex, iterative processes of relationships help re-engage individual actors in a collective to tackle challenges?’ Upon analysis of the data and the literature from various disciplines (including Leadership Studies, Social Movements and Collective Identity, and Communication Studies), a heuristic framework ‘Beyond the Collective’ was constructed. Using the work of Ganz (2010) around ‘Public Narrative’ and his practical experiences working with social movements, the framework expands on his use of storytelling to understand how a collective of individuals can grapple with their problems by using New Beginnings, to